Persecution Update March 2014: Morocco

March 1st, 2014 by Frontline Missions

The North African country of Morocco portrays itself as being moderately Muslim; but Sunni Islam is the official state religion of Morocco, and proselytizing is illegal. In fact, last year the government’s highest religious authority issued a ruling stating that Muslims who reject their faith should be executed. Christians comprise less than 1% of the entire population, and in 2010 the government declared some 70 foreign Christian workers “a danger” and expelled them from the country.

In August 2013, Mohamed el Baldi, who had become a Christian seven years earlier, was arrested after his home was raided by the secret police. He was charged with “shaking the faith of a Muslim” and sentenced to 30 months in jail, though no proof was offered. However, in God’s gracious providence, after he had served only one month in prison, el Baldi was given conditional freedom due to public attention to his case by human rights groups—and last month the judge dropped the charges against him. Please praise God for this victory, but also pray for Moroccan believers to stand strong in their faith in this hostile country.